The Markets April 16, 2008

Worldwide Funds Enjoy Q407 Inflows

Net cash flow to mutual funds worldwide was $383 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007, with both long-term funds and money market funds experiencing aggregate net inflows, according to the Investment Company Institute (ICI).
Reported by

Equity fund flows worldwide were $86 billion in the fourth quarter, up from $31 billion in the third quarter. The Americas accounted for $66 billion of equity flows in the fourth quarter and the Asia/Pacific region for $57 billion, compared to $14 billion and $48 billion, respectively, for the prior quarter.

ICI said Europe registered a net outflow of $37 billion from equity funds during the last three months of 2007, compared to a net outflow of $31 billion in the third quarter. Bond funds experienced a $28 billion net outflow, compared to a net outflow of $50 billion in the third quarter.

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The net outflow from bond funds was $46 billion in Europe in the fourth quarter, compared to a net outflow of $63 billion in the third quarter. Bond funds posted a net $33 billion inflow in the United States in the last quarter of 2007, up from $21 billion in the prior period.

Worldwide inflows to balanced funds were $45 billion in the fourth quarter, with $28 billion, or about three-fifths, attributable to the Americas. Flows into money market funds remained robust at $244 billion, down from $279 billion in the third quarter.

ICI said fund assets worldwide increased 1.6% to $26.2 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter. During the 2007 calendar year, fund assets grew 20.1%.

The latest ICI data report said growth in assets reported in U.S. dollars was boosted by depreciation of the dollar. For example, mutual fund assets in Europe on a U.S.-dollar-denominated basis increased 1.7% in the fourth quarter of 2007, compared to a 2% decrease on a Euro-denominated basis.

On a U.S.-dollar-denominated basis, asset levels increased for both long-term and money market funds. Assets of equity funds fell 0.4%, with $12.5 trillion in assets at the end of the fourth quarter of 2007.

More information is available at http://www.ici.org/stats/mf/ww_12_07.html.

Products April 16, 2008

Callan, Natixis Team to Release UMA Offering

Callan Associates’ Independent Adviser Group (IAG) and Natixis Global Associates’ Managed Portfolio Advisors (MPA) have announced the Callan Unified Managed Account (UMA) program.
Reported by

A news release from the two firms said the UMA is designed for independent investment consultants and financial intermediaries servicing high net worth individuals, family offices, endowments, foundations, and retirement plans. According to the companies, the UMA program is designed for investors with assets of $1 million to $150 million and is only available to IAG clients.

IAG will provide investment manager selection, ongoing due diligence, and quarterly performance reports to UMA clients, while MPA will execute strategy implementation, tax management, and rebalancing. Advisers using Callan’s UMA program can build customized, portfolios utilizing more than 70 investment products, including 29 account strategies as well as a variety of mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) choices.

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“What is unique about Callan’s UMA program is that middle market investors get the same flexibility and access to research as our institutional clients without the operational challenges or high fee structures of existing separate account programs,” said Brent Considine, senior vice president, IAG, in the announcement.

Some additional benefits of the program include, according to the announcement:

  • A turnkey investment management solution;
  • Ability to customize allocations and manager structures per account;
  • Portfolio coordination across multiple managers within the UMA;
  • A la carte menu of high quality investment products;
  • Single contract solution;
  • Fee transparency;
  • Client-specific comprehensive performance measurement reports;
  • Detailed analytics and qualitative due diligence on underlying managers; and
  • Automatic portfolio rebalancing and strategic tax management.

More information is available at www.callan.com.

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